Nelson University
Private College in Waxahachie, TX. Six-year graduation rate 42%. Median 10-year earnings $46,238.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $46,238 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 42% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Median debt at graduation is $24,725, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 89%, Nelson University takes nearly everyone who applies. The applicant pool is small at 656, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. Yield is high — 57% of admitted students go on to enroll, well above the typical rate. Read the score bands below as the middle 50% of submitted scores, not a threshold to clear.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 460–550 | 328 (99%) |
| SAT Math | 430–540 | |
| ACT Composite | — | 4 (1%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Nelson University →Academics
Completion is middling: 42% finish inside six years. 75% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. At 15:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,367 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $22,359 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Income makes less difference than usual: $17,583 at $0–30k, $25,474 at $110k+. Most students get help: 91% receive grants worth $11,942 on average. Borrowing is widespread: 63% take federal loans.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 278 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $17,583 |
| $30–48k | $18,396 |
| $48–75k | $21,731 |
| $75–110k | $23,883 |
| $110k+ | $25,474 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 866 of these 1,367 students, totalling $5,707,557 — an average of $6,591 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Ellis County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)